The air of optimism was clear for Canada’s broadcasters as they unveiled their slates for the 2021/22 seasons, with robust programming schedules and the promise of a return to normalcy in 2022 as the pandemic shows signs of winding down.

It’s full speed ahead for Corus Entertainment in 2021/22, unveiling 35 original productions in lifestyle, factual and kids, early renewals for script originals Departure (Shaftesbury) and Family Law (SEVEN24 Films, Lark Productions), as well as a 18-hour fall simulcast schedule to offer linear audiences.

Global’s 2021/22 fall schedule marks the second year in a row that a Canadian drama has been added to primetime, with Family Law airing on the coveted Thursday night slot. Troy Reeb (pictured, right), EVP broadcast networks at Corus Entertainment, tells Playback Daily the broadcaster has “a lot of confidence” in the series, both with its star appeal of Canadian actors Jewel Staite and Victor Garber, and with both the legal and family drama dynamics to draw from.

“While that Thursday night slot is very competitive with U.S. content, we believe this show is strong enough to be able to cut through and to reach a couple of different audiences – those who will watch it in a linear way, and those [will] catch up either on STACKTV or the Global TV app,” says Reeb.

Before Family Law hits the air, the broadcaster will see the end of one of its high-performing scripted originals. It was announced last week that Private Eyes (Piller/Segan, eOne), starring Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson, will air its final season in Global’s summer schedule. While Reeb acknowledges that the series has only grown stronger in the ratings since it first premiered, the broadcaster felt it was a case of “all good things must come to an end.”

“[The series has] come to a great place and, in discussion with the producers, we’ve made the decision that we really want [lead characters] Matt and Angie to go out on a high note,” says Reeb.

Another new original addition to its specialty lineup is Psi Cops (Wind Sun Sky Entertainment, Oddfellows Labs), which will premiere on Adult Swim. Reeb says Adult Swim has been an asset in reaching the young adult demo, even in linear, and animated series such as Rick and Morty have particularly resonated with that audience, both male and female. “We think adult animation is something that has really come into its own,” says Reeb. “It provides an unlimited creative landscape to play in for creators.”

On the unscripted front, Reeb points out that a number of series in their History lineup is bringing much-needed diversity to its slate, including BLK: An Origin Story (Hungry Eyes Media) and Deadman’s Curse (Great Pacific Media), as well as 90-minute special Black Liberators WWII (Yap Films). The company has also renewed Big Brother Canada for a 10th season, following its most diverse cast in the show’s history. He says they’ve also re-examined what communities are being represented in their casting, and are looking at diverse scripted projects currently in development.

For the broadcaster’s overall schedule, Reeb says last year’s “pandemic programming” allowed the team at Corus to “experiment with acquisitions and how we can window content a little differently.” For instance, international series such as British comedy Intelligence and Australian dramedy Five Bedrooms were picked up the last year’s fall specialty schedule, landing on Showcase and W Network, respectively. Both have been picked up for second seasons for 2021/22.

“[Intelligence] probably wouldn’t have made it onto our schedule had it not been for some of those decisions we had to make a year ago, but it did – and it did really well,” says Reeb.

The broadcaster also experimented with windows on its streaming service STACKTV, available as an add-on to Amazon Prime Video, thanks to its output deal with U.S. SVOD Peacock. The first episode of the Saved By the Bell reboot premiered both on Global and W Network to boost its audience range. Corus then dropped the entire season on STACKTV while also airing them weekly on W Network. It led to Saved By the Bell becoming Corus’ “biggest acquisition title of the year” on STACKTV, according to Reeb, and also attracted a larger linear audience on week two on W Network. He adds that audiences will continue to see Corus experiment with linear and streaming windows into the 2021/22 schedule.

Canadian broadcasters face an uphill battle in the war for viewers as continued mergers in the U.S. and abroad grow in scale, most recently with the proposed merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery and the move to combine France’s private broadcasters TF1 and M6. Reeb says Canadian private broadcasters aren’t advocating for regulatory changes to allow similar large-scale mergers, but for the swift passage of Bill C-10 to level the playing field in the Broadcasting Act.

“Currently there are no disincentives for U.S. studios [to launch direct-to-consumer services] where there are lots of obligations, regulations and disincentives to business that are put on the broadcasters,” adds Reeb. “That needs to be corrected, but regardless, even as a status quo world, we still think that we can demonstrate to our partners that there is a strong case to be made for working with companies like Corus.”

Reeb acknowledges the “cost pressure is probably greater than ever when it comes to the competition to acquire series,” and many of the barriers to launching direct-to-consumer services have diminished in the last year, but says Corus’ output deal with Peacock shows that not all U.S. studios see launching OTT services in Canada as a strategy for best monetizing their original content.

“It’s our job as a Canadian company to continue to showcase to those streamers that there is a better, faster way for them to ensure that the content they make gets maximum value in the Canadian market,” he says.

Even in the face of such mounting pressures, Reeb says there’s still much to be optimistic about for the future of Corus. Both STACKTV and the Global TV app have doubled their subscriptions and unique users year-over-year, and as ad revenues begin to rise he sees more need for ad-supported platforms, whether linear or digital, than ever before.

“What we’re most encouraged about is that with the advent of the streamers in the overall media ecosystem, there is now becoming a clear lane for companies like Corus in ad-supported content,” says Reeb. “As much as people may like Netflix or Disney Plus, those are subscription-based services. Advertisers need a place in this ecosystem and audiences want free content. Those two factors are marrying to support an ongoing positive environment for companies like Corus.”

Pictured (L-R): Arisa Cox and Troy Reeb